Russia to open gambling zone in Crimea

A government decree signed by the Prime Minister establishes that Crimea will feature a 147,000 square meters gambling zone.

Russia.- Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of Russia, has signed a government decree establishing the Golden Coast gambling zone in Yalta, Crimea. The document sets that the gambling zone will be 147,000 square meters.

Last month, the Crimea administration had asked the Russian Finance Ministry to create a gambling zone in the territory, TASS reported. The head of the Yalta administration Aleksey Chelpanov told the Russian News Agency that the former Fortuna health resort would be a platform for the gambling zone.

The region’s top official Sergei Aksenov also told the news agency that the gambling zone is expected to be operational by 2022. The government is likely to agree on the creation of the district before the end of 2019.

“All decisions [on the Crimea gambling zone] have been fully executed and all agreements will be concluded this year. The site [for the gambling zone] has already been determined at a public hearing. It is going to be the village of Katsiveli. By November, all formal procedures must be completed. Preparations on the site have already started. We must complete everything in two years,” Aksenov said.

Crimea: The zone will focus on tourists

Aksenov said that the logistics indicate that the tourists would arrive at the Belbek airport and then drive to the southern coast of Crimea. He added that with the help of investors, authorities would organise the gambling zone according to world standards.